Foundation garment of the corset type



Feb. 1,- 1944. 'M. SURENCE 2,340,627

FOUNDATION GARMENT OF THE CORSET TYPE Filed Jan. 26, 1942' ("I 'INVENTOR Myra Surence ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 1, 1944 FOUNDATION GARMENT OF THE CORSET TYPE Myra Surence, Philadelphia, Pa. Application January 26, 1942, Serial No. 428,285

8 Claims.

This invention relates to foundation garments, and has particular reference to such garments of the corset type.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a corset which is adapted to fit snugly and comfortably about the body of the wearer for which it is intended without interfering with the wearers freedom of movement.

Another important object is to provide a corset which is entirely free of protruding points, and which is adapted to conform smoothly to the wearers body, thereby making for greater neatness than previously considered possible.

Another object of importance is to provide a corset, which in the case of the majority of wearers, obviates the necessity for an additional belt or abdominal support.

A further object is to provide a corset, which can be readily adjusted to the individual requirements of a particular wearer, and which can be put on and taken off with great ease.

The foregoing objects are attained by providing a corset of the front-laced type with a combined inner shield and abdominal support extending across the central opening, said combined shield and support being elastic in a transverse direction only, and being secured permanently to one side of the central opening and be-. ing detachably secured to the other side of the central opening.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention,

the combined shield and support extend from just below the top edge of the garment to just below the portion corresponding to the abdomen of the wearer.

The top and bottom of the combined shield and support are preferably of greater elasticity than the intermediate portion thereof, and the top'and bottom edges are preferably curved, all for a purpose which will hereinafter appear.

Referring briefly to the drawing, wherein is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention:

Figure 1 is a front elevational' view of the corset as it appears when completely laced;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, except that the front panels are bent forward to un cover part of the inner shield; 4

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 1, except that the front panels and the inner shield are bent forward for greater clearness of illustration Figure 4 is a view on a somewhat enlarged scale looking down on the front section of the corset; and

Figure 5 is a front elevational view of the corset turned inside out.

Referring to the drawing in greater detail, the corset of the invention is shown as comprising a body portion I designed to encircle the wearers torso from below the chest to below the hips. The body portion of the garment may be formed of a number of longitudinal'panels of conven tional construction. The panels forming the front section of the corset are designated by the numerals 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and I. It is not considered necessary to indicate the panels in the rear section of the garment, as the construction of the rear section forms no part of the invention. It will be understood, however, that the panels are so shaped as to conform generally to the body of the wearer, and that the corset is intended, when laced, to fit snugly and comfortably about the wearers body.

The body portion of the garment may be made of any of the materials of which corsets are generally made, but preferably it is made of substantially inelastic material. Stays of suitable material and construction may be provided wherever considered necessary or desirable, several stays being shown in the drawing and denoted by 8, 9, It, II and I2. Elastic gores of triangular shape l3 and [4 may be provided in the front section as shown. These gores are preferably elastic in the transverse direction only, but may, if desired, be elastic in both the transverse and longitudinal directions, The gores may advantageously be of porous material to promote the comfort of the wearer. Garter supports l5, I6, I1 and [8 may be provided as in corsets of the conventional type.

As previously stated, the corset of the invention is of the front-laced type. The adjacent edges of the front panels 4 and 5 are each provided with a series of alined apertures to receive the laces. The laces may be either of elastic or non-elastic material. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, two laces l9 and 20 are provided, one for the upper two-thirds of the corset, and the other for the lower third. The upper lace I9 is preferably of inelastic material, whereas the lower lace 20 may advantageously be of elastic material.

As thus far described, the construction of the corset does not differ essentially from foundation garments of the priorart. The essential'feature of the invention, as previously stated, is the provision of a combined inner shield and abdominal support, which extends across the front opening between the twofront panels 4 and 5,

This combined shield and support, which is designated by the numeral 2i may be made of a single piece of material, but in the illustrative embodiment, I have shown it made of two vertical sections 22 and 23. The section 22 is preferably much wider than the section 23 and is permanently secured as by stitching to the rear of panel 4 to the left of the front opening. The narrow section 23 is permanently secured to the rear of panel 5 to the right of the front opening. The two sections are designed to be detachably secured together by means of cooperating hooks and eyes 24 and 25. As shown, the hooks are on one longitudinal edge of the section 22 and the eyes are spaced from one longitudinal edge of the section 23, the .two sections when secured together being in somewhat overlapping relationship. For reasons which will appear as the description proceeds, I prefer that the line of juncture between the two sections 22 and 23 be at the right of the front opening of the corset.

The combined shield and support, whether made in one or two detachable sections, is elastic in the transverse direction only (i. e., in the body encircling direction), and is preferably so constructed that the top and bottom portions are of considerably greater elasticity than the intermediate portion. One way of accomplishing this desired effect is to sew strips of inelastic material to the intermediate portion. As shown, the strips, which are indicated by the numeral 26 are preferably arranged to form shallow Vs, each V extending substantially across the entire width of the combined shield and support. In this way, it has been possible to use a small number of inelastic strips, while reducing the elasticity of the intermediate section the optimum amount. A number of stays, preferably two, such as indicated by 21, are provided down the center of the combined shield and support.

In actual practice, it has been found particularly advantageous to make the combined shield and support of such length that it extends from just below the top of the garment to just below the abdomen of the wearer. In the preferred embodiment, thecombined shield and abdominal support extend from about one or one and a half inches below the upper edge of the garment to about one inch or so below the .portion of the garment that corresponds to the abdomen of the wearer.

It has also been found advantageous to form the upper edge with a convex curve of relatively large radius and the lower edge with a concave curve of about the same radius. In this way, I have succeeded in eliminating the tendency which existed in prior art corsets of digging into the body at the top and of binding unduly at the bottom.

The front panel 5 is separable along a longitudinal line for most of its length, the adjacent edges of the two sections being provided with stringers 28 and 29 of a slide operated fastener (zipper). The slider is designated by 30.

The manner of putting on and taking off'the corset of the invention is thought to be selfexplanatory from its construction.

It will be understood that when the corset is to be put on, the front laces are in untied or loosened condition, the slider 38 of the zipper is at the lower limit of its travel and the two sections 22 and 23 of the combined shield and support are disconnected. .To put the garment on, it is placed about the body in proper position, the two sections 22 and 23 of the combined shield and support are secured together by means of the hooks and eyes 24 and 25, the zipper 5 slider 30 is moved to the upper limt of its travel,

and finally the laces are pulled tight and tied together.

The combined shield and support serves to prevent the laces from cutting into the flesh. In

addition due to its elastic construction, it serves to give just the right amount of support to the abdomen, thereby obviating the use of a separate support or abdominal belt such as has been considered necessary in the case of many women.

5 As previously stated, the curvature at the top of the combined shield and support prevents digging in of the garment, and the curvature at the bottom prevents undue binding. Hence, the corset of the invention can be worn with much greater comfort than previously considered possible.

To take oif the corset, it is merely necessary to pull the zipper slider down to the lower limit of its motion, detach the hooks 24 and eyes 25 25, and slip the garment off as is usual in the case of such garments.

The foregoing detailed description has been given to illustrate the invention, which is to be 9 limited only by the appended claims and the state of the prior art.

I claim: 1. A corset of the type consisting of a number of vertical panels arranged in body encircling 5 relationship and. being open at the front and means for receiving laces on each edge of the front opening for drawing said edges toward each other, in combination with the foregoing elements a combined inner shield and abdominal support permanently secured to one side of the front opening, extending across the front opening and being detachably secured to the opposite side of said front opening, said combined shield and support being elastic in the body encircling direction only.

.2. A corset of the type consisting of a number of vertical panels arranged in body-encircling relationship and being open at the front and means for receiving laces on each edge of the front opening for drawing said edges toward each other, in combination with the foregoing elements a combined inner shield and abdominal support extending across the front opening from just below the top of the corset to just below the portion of the corset corresponding to the abdomen, one edge of said combined shield and support being secured by stitching to the body portion of said corset along a line spaced from one edge of the front opening, the opposite edge v,of said combined shield and support being detchably secured to a portion of said corset along a line spaced from the opposite edge of the front opening, said combined shield and support being elastic in the body-encircling direction only.

3. A corset of the type consisting of a number of vertical panels arranged in body-encircling relationshipand being open at thefront and means for receiving laces on each edge of the front opening for drawingsaid edges toward each other,in combination with .the foregoing elements a combinedinner shield and abdominal support extending across the front opening from just below the top of the corset to just below-the portion of the .corset corresponding to the abdomen, one

7;; edge of said combined shield and support being secured by stitching to the body portion of said corset along a line spaced from one edge of the front opening, the opposite edge of said combined shield and support being detachably secured to a portion of said corset along a line spaced from the opposite edge of the front opening, said combined shield and support being elastic in the bodyencircling direction only, and being provided at its top with a convex curve.

4. A corset of the type consisting of a number of vertical panels arranged in body-encircling relationship and being open at the front and means for receiving laces on each edge of the front opening for drawing said edges toward each other, in combination with the foregoing elements a combined inner shield and abdominal support extending across the front opening from just below the top of the corset to just below the portion of the corset corresponding to the abdomen, one edge of said combined shield and support being secured by stitching to the body portion of said corset along a line spaced from one edge of the front opening, the opposite edge of said combined shield and support being detachably secured to a portion of said corset along a line spaced from the opposite edge of the front opening, said combined shield and support being elastic in the body-encircling direction only, and being provided at its bottom with a concave curve.

5. A corset of the type consisting of a number of vertical panels arranged in body-encircling relationship and being open at the front and means for receiving laces on each edge of the front opening for drawing said edges toward each other, in combination with the foregoing elements a combined inner shield and abdominal support extending across the front opening from just below the top of the corset to just below the portion of the corset corresponding to the abdomen, one edge of said combined shield and support being secured by stitching to the body portion of said corset along a line spaced from one edge of the front opening, the opposite edge of said combined shield and support being detachably secured to a portion of said corset along a line spaced from the opposite edge of the front opening, said combined shield and support being elastic in the body-encircling direction only, and being provided at its top with a convex curve and at its bottom with a concave curve.

6. A corset of the type consisting of a number of vertical panels arranged in body-encircling relationship and being open at the front and means for receiving laces on each edge of the front opening for drawing said edges toward each other, in combination with the foregoing elements a combined inner shield and abdominal support extending across the front opening from just below the top of the corset to just below the portion of the corset corresponding to the abdomen, one edge of said combined shield and support being secured by stitching to the body portion of said corset along a line spaced from one edge of the front opening, the opposite edge of said combined shield and support being detachably secured to a portion of said corset along a line spaced from the opposite edge of the front. opening, the top and bottom marginal edges thereof being of substantially greater elasticity than the intermediate portion thereof.

'7. A corset of the type consisting of a number of vertical panels arranged in body-encircling relationship and being open at the front and means for receiving laces on each edge of the front opening for drawing said edges toward each other, in combination with the foregoing elements a combined inner shield and abdominal support extending across the front openingfrom just below the top of the corset to just below the portion of the corset corresponding to the abdomen, one edge of said combined shield and support being secured by stitching to the body portion of said corset along a line spaced from one edge of the front opening, the opposite edge of said combined shield and support being detachably secured to a portion of said corset along a line space from the opposite edge of the front opening, the front section of the corset being separable for most of its length along a line in proximity to the detachably-secured edge of said combined shield and support.

8. A corset of .the type consisting of a number of vertical panels arranged in body-encircling relationship and being open at the front and means for receiving laces on each edge of the front opening for drawing said edges toward each other, in combination with the foregoing elements a combined inner shield and abdominal support extending across the front opening from just below the top of the corset to just below the portion of the corset corresponding to the abdomen, one edge of said combined shield and support being secured by stitching to the body portion of said corset along a line spaced from one edge of the front opening, the opposite edge of said combined shield and support being detchably secured to a portion of said corset along a line spaced from the opposite edge of the front opening, the front section of the corset being separable for most of its length along a line in proximity to the detachably-secured edge of said combined shield and support, and being provided with slidable means for detachably securing together the separable portions of the front section.

MYRA SURENCE. 

